728. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a breakdown of the number of applicants who are in receipt of forestry payments; the number who receive an annual payment under €5,000; the number who receive a payment between €5,000 and €10,000; the number who receive a payment between €10,000 and €20,000; the number who receive a payment between €20,000 and €50,000; and the number who receive a payment above €50,000 for the years 2021- 2025. [45132/26]

729. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total annual spend in forestry payments to farmers for the years 2021-2025. [45133/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 728 and 729 together.

The grants available under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme include an annual income tax free premium payment for applicants, and these are made for a period of 20 years for applicants with farmer status and 15 years for other applicants.

Table 1 below details the total annual spend in forestry payments to farmers for the years 2021 to 2025 as requested, with an overall spend of €221,513,648 to farmers in that time period.

Table 1: Afforestation Scheme Farmer Payments 2021 to 2025

Forest owners can apply online for their forestry premiums through the Department’s Online Services website (www.agfood.ie). This facility is open all year, with applications processed as  they are received, and payments are issued on a weekly basis. It should be noted that some forest owners may own more than one plantation, and  also that “banking of premiums” often occurs, this is where individuals choose to allow their premiums build-up, to claim at a future date.

The figures in Table 2 represent the recipients, both farmers and other applicants,  who received an annual premium within each of the thresholds requested - not cumulative payments.

Table 2 - Afforestation Scheme Annual Premium Payment Recipients by Threshold 2021 to 2025

(All applicants)